Feeding-trough.



No. 840,008. PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907,'

H. W. LINEWEAVBR.

FEEDING THOUGH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.12.1906.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1907.

Application filed March 12, 1906. Serial No. 305.610.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. LINE- WEAVER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at South English, in the county of Keokuk and State ofIowa, have invented a certain new and useful Feeding-Trough, of whichthe following is a specification.

The object. of my invention is to provide an animal-feeding trough ofsimple, durable, and inexpensive construction in which the animalsfeeding in one compartment of the trough may be given a greater or lessquantity of feed from the hopper, so that the weaker animals will not bedeprived of food or crowded out of their compartments, so that theoperator may, if desired, give a larger proportion of feed to some ofthe animals than to others feeding from the same trough.

My invention consists in the construction of the trough, whereby theobjects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth,pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which Figure 1 shows a vertical transverse sectional view through thetrough, and Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of same with part of thetrough side broken away.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used thereference-numeral 1 0 to indicate the base of the trough. Arranged atthe center of the base is a longitudinal dividing-board 11. Extendedlaterally from the dividing-board 11 is a number of short partitions 12,which may be secured in position by fastening them to the dividing-boardand to the bottom 10. In this way the dividingboard and partitions serveto mutually brace each other and form a strong and ineXpensivestructure. At the edge of the baseboard are the trough sides 13, andextending from the tops of the sides 13 downwardly and inwardly are theguide-boards 14. The sides of the bottom of the hopper are indi cated bythe numeral 15 and are inclined downwardly and inwardly toward thedividing-board 11, their lower edges being spaced apart from the top ofsaid dividing-board and their upper edges arranged vertically.

At the ends of the trough are the end pieces 16, with their tops flushwith the tops of the parts 15. The hopper-body portion comprises thesides 17, which are designed to fit against the upper edges of the parts15 and in this way be prevented from lateral movement relative to theparts 15. The

hopper ends 18 rest flat against the tops of the parts 16, and I haveprovided for preventing their longitudinal movement by means of the bar19, fixed to the part 18 and passed through a loop 20 on the part 16. Atthe center of the hopper-body 1s a vertical partition 21 and below it apartition 22 of the same size as the end pieces 16. The top 23 of thehopper is hinged at one side by the hinges 24. When the hopper topportion is in position, it is held against movement in all directionsand yet it may readily be removed bodily without releasing any fasteningdevices, and when it is removed food may be placed in it and the animalsmay feed from the trough in the same manner as before described.

At the center of each side of the trough are the upright supports 25,engaging the bottom of the hopper. Mounted beneaththe bottom 15 of eachside of the trough are two slides 26, each of which extends from thecentral support 25 to one of the ends of the trough, and each isslidingly supported in the I guides 27 with its inner edge resting ontop of the partitions 12. I have provided for adjusting these slides bymeans of rods 28, fixed to them and passed through the screweye 29 onthe bottom 15. Each rod is provided with an adjusting-nut 30 to engagethe screw-eye. In this way I make each of the slides independentlyadjustable.

In practical operation and assuming the hopper contains food that maydischarge through the opening at the bottom and assuming, further, thatall of the slides are open slightly, so that each of thefeeding-compartments contains food, then the animals feeding from thetrough will be prevented by the guards 14 from placing their front feetin the trough, because if they do so their feet will slide downwardlytoward the center of the trough and prevent them from feeding on thetrough. If, however, the animals stand with their feet on the outside ofthe trough, they can readily reach the food lying adj acent to thecentral division-board. Furthermore, the guards 14 prevent theaccumulation of food at the outer edge of the trough, where the animalscould not readily reach it. So long as the animals feeding from onecompartment can obtain any food at all they will remain in position andwill not move to the other compartments. The partitions 12 prevent themfrom seeing the food in the other compartments, and all they can see iscontained in the compartment from which they are feeding. Therefore ifthe operator desires to give some of the animals more food than othershe can do so by simply adjusting the slide of the desired compartment,so that the food enters the trough in said compartlIlGIl'DlIl greaterquantities than in the other compartments. This may be done when theanimals are feeding and the weaker animals, orthose to be fattened, willnot be molested by the others. Furthermore, the trough is made verystrong and durable by having the central division board and thetransverse partitions arranged to mutually support and brace each other,and in this way an inexpensive trough is provided that has greatstrength and durability.

If it is desired to provide the trough with large quantities of feed, sothat the animals may obtain food when desired without the attention ofthe operator, then the hopper is left in position as shown, or if it isdesired to feed the animals in limited quantities the hopper may beremoved and the food placed in the hopper-top, as desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is-

1. A feeding-trough comprising a bottom, trough sides, an uprightlongitudinal divisionboard, transverse partitions engaging thedivision-board and the bottom, a hopper with an opening adjacent to thedivision-board and a number of slides capable of independent adjustmentarranged beneath the hopper to control the flow of feed from the hopperto the trough.

2. In a feeding-trough, the combination of a base, trough sides securedto the base,

guards at the top of the sides inclined down- 'wardly toward the base, alongitudinal central division-board, a number of transverse partitionsfixed to the base and to the sides of the central division-board,upright end pieces and a central support, a hopper on said end piecesand central support having the sides of its bottom inclined downwardlyand inwardly to a point a short distance from the centraldivision-board, guides on the central division-board and ends, a numberof slides supported in said guides resting upon the transversepartitions, rods fixed to the slides, loops secured to thehopper-bottomhaving said rods passed through them and nuts on said rods for adjustingthe slides.

3. A feeding-trough comprising a bottom, trough sides, an uprightlongitudinal divisional board, transverse partitions engaging thedivision-board and the bottom, hopper sides inclined downwardly withtheir lower edges spaced apart from the longitudinal divisional board, anumber of slides capable of independent adjustment beneath thehopperbottom to control the flow of feed through the openings betweenthe bottom pieces and division-board, a central partition extendingacross the hopper-bottom, a hopper-top comprising ends to rest upon theends of the trough, a central partition to rest upon the saidpartition-piece, hopper sides to project downwardly beyond the edges ofthe hopperbottom pieces, a hinged cover, bars fixed to the hopper endsand loops fixed to the ends of the trough to receive said bars.

HENRY W. LINEWVEAVER.

Witnesses:

A. T. PARKE, W. W. WHITE.

